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Here are some suggested story and poetry texts on environmental issues/themes. Many are aimed at Key Stage 1 pupils, but are equally usable with older children who will be able to recognise any environmental sub-text
Shared responsibility for the environment

Dinosaurs and all that Rubbish by Michael Foreman (ISBN 014055260X) Picture Puffins
A man ruins his planet in a quest to reach a distant star, leaving the newly-awakened dinosaurs to clean up after him. He is only allowed to return when he realises that the Earth should be shared by everyone.

Jaguar by Helen Cowcher (ISBN 059011123X) Picture Hippo
A mystical encounter with a jaguar shows a hunter that he must learn to share his environment with all creatures.

Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Chief Seattle and Susan Jeffers (ISBN 0140405451X) Picture Puffins
Part of Chief Seattle's message to the government in Washington 150 years ago when Native Indian land was being 'bought'. "The earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth."

Beyond the Rainbow Warrior edited by Michael Morpurgo (ISBN 1-85739-888-7) Pavilion Books
A collection of nine short stories to celebrate 25 years of the organisation 'Greenpeace'. Like Greenpeace, it aims to open people's eyes to what is happening around them and to encourage discussion on how best to conserve our natural world.

Endangered animals and environments

Oi Get Off Our Train! by John Burningham (ISBN 009985340X) Red Fox Picture Books
A little boy speeds through the night on a dream-train to different environments where endangered animals beg for a lift.

The Forgotten Forest by Laurence Anholt (ISBN 0711206805) Frances Lincoln
In a heavily built-up environment, there is only one forest left, forgotten by everyone except the children who love to play there. The builders decide they need to build more homes...

Wonderful Earth by Nick Butterworth + Mick Inkpen (ISBN 1856080056) Hunt and Thorpe
The amazing variety of life on Earth and the destruction of the environment by humans. Includes pop out pages, flaps and even a mirror!

One World by Michael Foreman (ISBN 0862642892) Andersen Press
A brother and sister play on a beach and become aware of the pollution around them.

Window by Jeanie Baker (ISBN 0744594863) Walker Books
Beautiful collage illustrations, each page showing the same environment with a change in time. (Also available in Big Book format.)

Where the Forest Meets the Sea by Jeanie Baker (ISBN 0744561639) Walker Books
Set in a tropical rainforest in Queensland that has existed for millions of years, but for how much longer? (Also available in Big Book format.)

The Water Hole by Graeme Base (ISBN 0810945681) Harry N Abrams Inc.
A counting book which introduces animals from all continents visiting an ever-diminishing waterhole.

Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan Macdonald (ISBN 0744590507) Walker Books
Judy Moody is learning about the environment at school and also about the endangered species in her own backyard and her own family's poor recycling habits.

The Tower to the Sun by Colin Thompson (ISBN 0099609118) Red Fox Picture Books
Looking from the moon to the Earth, where once the Great Wall of China could be seen, 100 years later nothing but clouds was visible. Now on Earth, no-one could see the sun...

The Great Kapok Tree by Lynn Cherry (ISBN 0152026142) Harcourt Brace International
Brazilian rainforest animals try to convince the man with an axe of the importance of not cutting down their tree.

The Princess who Danced with Cranes by Annette le Box (ISBN 0929005872) Second Story Press
A popular games leads to a river being dammed, with ensuing consequences to the environment.

Milo and the Magical Stones by Marcus Pfister (ISBN 1558586822) North South Books
A mouse discovers an extraordinary stone that can bring delight or disaster to the world. The book splits into two sections half way through, each offering a different ending.

Restoring Environments
Growing Good by Bernard Ashley (ISBN 0747547009) Bloomsbury Children's Books
A wasteland is turned into a community garden.

A Ruined House by Mick Manning (ISBN 0744547288) Walker Books
A ruined house, which has been turned into a haven for wild plants and creatures, is explored.

Respecting the Environment
The Wild Woods by Simon James (ISBN 0744536618) Walker Books
Picture book about a child learning a lesson about respecting creatures and their natural habitat.

Sally and the Limpet by Simon James (ISBN 0744520207) Walker Books
A entertaining story to encourage children not to disturb animals in their natural habitat.

Hey Little Ant by Philip Hoose (ISBN 1883672546) Ten Speed Press
Respect for all living creatures.

Dear Greenpeace by Simon James (ISBN 0744530601) Walker books
A series of letters between a young girl and Greenpeace discussing what should be done about a whale living in her garden pond.

Out of the Ashes by Michael Morpurgo (ISBN 033039732X) Macmillan Children's Books
Told through the eyes of a young girl living on a farm in Devon during a foot and mouth epidemic.

Interdependence in the Environment
The tree in the Ancient Forest by Carol Reed-Jones (ISBN 1883220319) Dawn Publications
A repetitive text describes how everything in an ancient forest is interrelated around a 300 year old Douglas Fir tree.

Betting on Forever by Billy Aronson (ISBN 0070058296) Tab Books
Extinct creatures return to the Earth for a 10,000 year re
union. A
facts-in-fiction approach about the interdependency of living things.

This is the Sea that Feeds Us by Robert F Baldwin (ISBN 1883220319) Dawn Publications
A cumulative rhyme portrays the ocean's intricate food web.

Water in the Environment
A Drop Around the World by Barbara Shaw McKinney (ISBN 1883220718) Dawn Publications
The journey of a raindrop through the water cycle.

Anthologies / Poetry

Earthways, Earthwise: Poems on Conservation by Judith Nicholls (ISBN 0192722484) Oxford University Press
An anthology of poems based on the theme of conservation.

Anthology for the Earth edited by Judy Allen (ISBN 0744544386) Walker Books
A compilation of writings and images by authors, poets and children, on a variety of themes and issues which have moved them.

The Works 2 edited by Brian Moses + Pie Corbett (ISBN 0330399020) Macmillan Children's Books
Poems on every subject and for every occasion, including a section on 'the environment'

Green Poems edited by John Foster (ISBN 0199166870) Oxford University Press.
A selection of simple poems on the theme of litter, recycling, pollution and looking after the countryside.

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